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We have been engaged in a sermon series that has looked at what it takes to be an authentic and active disciple of Christ fully engaged in a faith community which we call the church. This included the following:

Studying the bible, praying, gathering for Eucharist, giving of our gifts and our time and our financial resources, sharing our faith with others.

These are all part and parcel of what it means to live a Christian life.

Today I want to explore a crucial aspect of what it means to be a Christ follower.

It is the concept of living a virtuous life.

What is a virtue?

Virtue is doing what is right.

What is the opposite of a virtue?

A vice.

With divine assistance the Christian is called to become increasingly virtuous and tto abstain from vice.

In the bible we read,

“By their deeds shall you know them” or more accurately translated, in Matthew 7 we read:

¹⁵Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

 ¹⁶Ye shall know them by their fruits.

A while ago I was having lunch at a restaurant. When I had finished I got up and left. About three days later I remembered that I had not paid for my lunch. About a week later I had an opportunity to go back to the area where I’d had my lunch and went into the restaurant and explained what had happened and handed over the money. The staff looked at me blankly but took my money nonetheless. They seemed surprised that I had come back to pay them. What had motivated me to return with the money?

An ethical code that is part of who I am.

Tell the person next to you of a time when you were challenged to behave ethically at some personal cost to yourself.

I am reminded of a famous quote from D.L. Moody

Character is what you are in the dark.

I liken our lives to water. Water has no shape what gives it shape is the container in which if finds itself. So this glass gives this water its shape. So it is with our lives. Everyone lives and breathes and experiences and suffers and enjoys and what our lives look like is shaped by how we contain our experiences. The glass if you like is the ethical framework or guidelines within which we live.

As Christians the guidelines we use to determine our ethical behaviour are encoded in the 10 Commandments. They are our plumb line.

These commandments are as follows:

Now perhaps you are of the opinion that these rules which are rather negatively framed are not relevant to our 20^th Century lives. For example: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. What might this mean for us today? Set time aside to reflect on spiritual matters, to rest from work, to give God our attention. That’s pretty relevant I would say.

I would like you to take five minutes to share with the person next to you ways of rephrasing these commandments that make them more positive and relevant to our 21^st century lives without changing the sense of them – form them into broad principles.

Here’s another example. Do not covet your neighbours house , wife, servants ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbour. This can be rephrased as see the good in the many blessings you have been given and be satisfied with what you have in life.

The 10 commandments can be précised in broad principles as

·         Giving God the most important place in our lives

·         Using time well i.e. respecting the Sabbath

·         Respecting parents/ role models and caring for them

·         Controlling lust and remaining loyal in relationships

·         Basic honesty

·         Non-violence.

The exercise you have just done is what Jesus in effect was doing when he preached the Sermon on the Mount and delivered the Beatitudes.

Here Jesus lasys down broad and general principles rather than detailed rules. The question Jesus addresses is not so much what I should not do as what more can I do?

The key values are spiritual growth, compassion, gentleness, justice, mercy, purity and courage. All these are the out workings of a love that is courageous.

 In many ways the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes are two sides of the same coin. The coin of orageious love both defines and shapes us just as the glass shapes the water.

Underlying the Biblical code for living a Christian life, whether we are talking about the 10 Commandments or the Beatitudes is the value of Love and Courage.

The original meaning of the word virtue carried with it connotations of courage.

We are challenged to live loving and courageous lives for God.

Courage without love is not good and love without the courage to put it into action is equally of little use.

Jesus wrapped all the moral rules into two: love God and love your neighbour.

This takes courage.

The subsets of courageous love are

Justice, Respect , Integrity, Fairness, Compassion , Mercy , generosity.

The moral questions Christians must ask themselves are:

Is what I am doping thinking or saying a loving thing to do say or think or is it not?

Is what I am doing life enhancing or life diminishing for me and for others?

As we go into the various situations in our work place, homes, leisure activities etc, these questions remain the same.

Does what I am doing with my time, my energy, my money and my life, reflect my love for God and for my neighbour.

For the Christian living a virtuous life means living well before God and alongside others.

I pray that as we journey together as disciples of Jesus, as member so this faith community which is the body of Christ, in this corner of His vineyard , we will have the courage and love that will enable us to lives virtuous lives that bring glory to God’s name and positively impact our neighbours in this community.

May our virtuous lives cause us to leave every situation in which we find ourselves, every interaction we experience more love-filled than when we first encountered it.

I pray that as we journey together as disciples of Jesus, as members of this faith community which is the body of Christ in this corner of his vineyard, we will have the courage and love that will enable us to live virtuous lives that bring glory to his name and positively impacts this community.

Like the glass shapes the water, may our virtuous lives shape us to leave every situation in which we find ourselves, every interaction we experience better than when we first encountered it.

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